The ups and downs of Roberto Aguayo's rookie season

When Roberto Aguayo was drafted by the Bucs in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft general manager Jason Licht and company had high expectations for him, especially knowing that he finished his college career as one of the most accurate kickers in NCAA history. During his tenure at Florida State, Aguayo nailed every single one of his 198 extra point attempts and left Tallahassee having connected on 96.73 percent of his kicks.

Unfortunately, since joining the Bucs’ roster, the rookie kicker has failed to live up to expectations and there’s been plenty of scrutiny surrounding his missed kicks and overall performance this past season.

After one missed field goal and another blocked in Tampa Bay’s season finale victory over the Panthers, the Bucs finished their 2016 campaign last in field-goal percentage, connecting on just 71 percent.

Although Aguayo made just 22 of 31 of his field goal attempts and his conversion rate was the worst in the NFL, it’s hard to tell if an athlete’s rookie season will be indicative of his future.

Just take a look at Sebastian Janikowski. He was the 17th overall pick in the NFL draft back in 2000 and was just the fourth pace kicker in NFL history to be taken in the first round. Yet he connected on just 68 percent of his field goal attempts in his rookie season. What did the Raiders to with him following his disappointing rookie campaign? They kept him around.

The result?

Janikowski worked through his kicking game woes and now boats a 97.5 percent conversion rate in extra points and 80 percent conversion rate on field goals.

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Having said that, it’s honestly way too early to tell if Aguayo is a draft bust or not, and quite frankly after one season it seems unfair to call him one. The Bucs should give him at least one more shot to prove himself and then go from there.